Positively actuated thread holder for looms



Dec. 11, 1945. E. A. SANTON POSITIVELY ACTUATED THRE AD HOLDER FOR LOOMSFiled June 17, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3mm @Wv Ow-EMNWYW uw. [/7 M Dec.11, 1945. E. A. SANTON POSITIVELY ACTUATED THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1944 Patented Dec. 11, 1945 POSITIVELYAGTUATED HULDEE FOR LOOMS' Elliot A; Santon, Worcester, Mass, assig norto Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass a. corporation ofMassachusetts Application June 17, 1944, Serial No. 540,777

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and itis the general object of the invention to provide improved means fortaking up the slack in weft ends extending from bobbins awaitingtransfer in a magazine.

In the usual multicolor weft replenishing loom there are severalvertical stacks of bobbins the weft ends of which extend to a threadholder located beyond the magazine and serving. as an anchorage for thethread of the transferred bobbin to assist in the shuttle threadingoperation during the pick subsequent to a. bobbin transfer. The weftends extend above the lay and should be held out of its path to avoidbreakage; This general result has been accomplished heretofore by theuse of meshing gears which turn during loom operation to draw the weftends away from the bobbins and thereby tighten them. When the yarn onthe bobbins is coarse the geared members heretofore used do not alwaysoperate successfully to tighten their weft ends because of the size ofthe bundle of threads between them. When a transfer is initiated in sucha loom the bobbins of one or another of the stacks fall as the bottombobbin moves into a cradle preparatory to delivery therefrom formovement to a, common transfer position when a transfer is called. Asthe bobbins move downwardly their weft ends are slackened and unlessprovision is made for taking up this slackness the threads willeventually be broken by the lay. 7

It is an important object of my present invention to provide means forpositively driving the meshing thread engaging gears or elementsincident to each descent of bobbins in the magazine so that wheneverslackness occurs due to downward motion of the bobbins the gears will beturned to tighten the threads.

In the type of loom to which my invention more particularly relatesindication of weft exhaustion is given on one pick coincident withmovement of a bobbin into a cradle and descent of the superposedbobbins, and transfer is called on a subsequent pick of the loom whenthe empty shuttle returns to a position under the magazine. If at thistime the shuttle should not be properly placed for transfer revokingmechanism will cancel the called transfer and the released bobbin willlater be dropped into the bobbin can. Under these conditions there is notransfer, but the bobbins in the selected stack have neverthelessdescended and their weft ends have become slackened. It is a furtherobject of my present invention to take up this slaclmess of the weftends extending from the descending bobbins independently of the transfermechanism so that the weft ends will be kept taut even though acalledtransfer isrevoked.

Multi-stack magazines are ordinarily made with a top shaft which has anoscillating niovejment when a cradle delivers its bobbin upon call fortransfer. This shaft rocks away from its normal position to set themagazine for transfer when the bobbin is delivered, and is subsequentlyreturned to normal position to reset the magazine. It is a moreparticular object of my present invention to provide operatingconnection between the aforesaidsh'aft and the thread engagin gearscausing the latter to turn in a direction totake' up slackness in theweft en s whenever the shaft has the aforesaid oscillation. Theoscillation of the shaft occurs after" the bobbins have fallen in theirstack coincident with bobbin delivery, and I can therefore utilize theshaft to operate the thread gears when it has either its initial motionto set the magazine for transfer, or has its resetting movement torestore the magazine to normal position, whether the resetting follows anormal transfer or is effected at revocation of transfer by a misplacedshuttle; Y

With these and other objects in View which willappear as the descriptionproceeds, myinvention resides in the combination and arrangement ofparts'hereinafterdescribed and set forth.

In the accompanying" drawin s, wherein two fOr'mS' Of my invention afset forth.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a weft replenishing loomhaving the referred forniof" my invention applied thereto. H n V Fig. 2is an enlarged side elevation looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig;1', snowing the bobbin magazine,

Fig. 3 is a detailed rear elevation lookingin the; direction of" arrow3, Fig. 2; parts being omitted and the bobbin releaser actuatorbeing'partly' in section,

Figs. 4 and 5- are diagrammatic views showing. the weft endsrespectively before and after their bobbins have descende ii a stackFig; 6 is'aii enlarged Side elevation looking. in the direction of arrow6,. Fig. 1, showing the thread holder case and' operating parts for thethread engagin geared elements,

Fig. 7 is a vertical section online T-I df Fig- 6;.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged rear elevation of the preferred form of arm andassoc'iatedpartsmounted on the top shaft of the magazine and by means ofwhich the driving m'eclianism for the geared elements is operated;

Fig.9 is a view'similar to Fig. 3' but showingthe modified fonn of theinvention,

Fig. is a, view similar to Fig. 8 but showing the modified form ofoperating arm, and

Fig. 11 is a vertical section on line Il-ll of Fig. 6.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown a loomframe l0having a lay l l and shuttle S under a magazine M which in the presentinstance is arranged to carry four vertical stacks of reserve bobbins I,II, III and IV reading from front or right of Fig. 2 to back. Shuttlepicking mechanism is indicated generally at P and the thread holder isindicated at H. The magazine is provided with inner and outer bobbinguiding end plates l2 and I3, respectively, held together by the usualtie rods one of which is shown at M. The bobbins extend between the endplates and are arranged to move downwardly by gravity as successivereplenishing operations of the loom occur.

The stacks I-IV are provided with bobbin releasers indicated at l5, I6,I7 and i8, respectively. These releasers are adapted for actuation by aselector which includes in its construction a longitudinally slidablerod 2| the position of which is determined in usual manner by theshuttle box mechanism not shown at the opposite end of the loom. Bymeans of a rod 22 controlled by the detector not shown the selector isrocked in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 whenever the weftdetector indicates weft exhaustion and on the next subsequent pick theselector is rocked in the opposite direction.

Each of the releasers has upper and lower lifting lugs 25 and 26,respectively, for operation by the selector when registering with thelatter. When the selector rocks clockwise it lifts one of the lugs 25tojelevate thecorresponding releaser, whereupon the associated cradlerocks in one direction to receive the bobbin above it, and when thereleaser is depressed the cradle rocks in the opposite direction todeliver the previously received bobbin. There is a cradle at the bottomof each stack for controlling delivery of bobbins therefrom, and all thecradles deliver their bobbins to a common transfer position indicated atT in Fi 2. v

The cradles are normally empty and the weft ends W of'the superposedbobbins are taut, as indicated'in Fig. 4, but when a releaser rises itscradle rocks to the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby allowing thesuperposed bobbins to fall with resultant slackness of the weft ends, asindicated in Fig. 5. The descent of the bobbins causing this slacknessoccurs when the detector initiates a replenishing operation by causingthe selector 20 to rock clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3.

The top of each releaser is provided with a dog 32 which is in the idleposition shown in Fig. 3 when the releaser is down, but when thereleaser is raised the dog swings outwardly from end plate l2, or to theright, to operating'position. These dogs are for the purpose ofoperating the aforesaid oscillating shaft or member shown at 35 in Figs.2 and 3. This shaft has secured thereto a shelf 36, see Fig. 3, whichextends horizontally and is conm'lon to the releaser dogs. The shaft 35is normally at rest but when a raised magazine end frame I2. The shuttlefeeler carries a pin 42 cooperating in well-known manner with the rearbobbin butt support not shown. When rod 38 is lowered the pin 42 ismoved downwardly for thgpurpose of permitting the bobbin support to holda bobbin in transfer position T. Well-known means not shown hereinsubsequently returns the shaft 35 to its normal position with the shelf36 elevated so that it can be depressed again when the next replenishingoperation is called.

In the operation of the matter thus far described indication ofexhaustion of weft in the running shuttle will cause the selector toraise one or another of the releasers to initiate a. replenishingoperation. The releaser remains in raised position while the exhaustedshuttle is picked to the opposite side of the loom, and upon return ofthe exhausted shuttle the selector depresses the previously raisedreleaser to deliver a bobbin for transfer and thereby call areplenishing operation. If the shuttle upon its return is properly boxedthe called replenishing operation will be completed by a transfer of thebobbin in transfer position into the shuttle, but if the shuttle is notproperly placed the shuttle feeler will lift part 40 and raise rod 38 torestore shaft 35 to its normal position, thereby raising rod 31 toprevent transfer. In the upward movement of the rod 38, however, the pin42 rises and effects release of the untransferred bobbin from themagazine.

It is not thought necessary to illustrate allof the foregoing, since thebobbin support, shuttle feeler, and pin 42 may be similar tocorrespondin parts shown in Ryon Patent No; 1,307,024, and the generalfeatures of the magazine may be as shown in Ryon Patent No. 1,030,748.The rod 31 may operate as suggested in Gordon Patent No. 1,953,- 648.These parts do not enter directly into the operation of my invention,but do indicate that 2. called replenishment is not necessarily followedby a transfer.

The thread holder H comprises a housing 45 on which are rotatablymounted front and back geared elements 46 and 41, respectively, betweenwhich extend the Weft ends W of the bobbins B in the magazine. Thegearsor geared elements 46 and 41 are turned in a direction tending to drawthe weft ends W away from the bobbins, thereby keeping the weft endstaut to prevent them from falling into the path of the lay. The threadholder may be made somewhat as indicated in patent to Payne No. 1,842,731. l

The matter thus far described is of common construction and of itselfforms no part of my present invention.

Heretofore the gears or geared elements 46 and 4! had been driven byvarious means, such as a Vibration motor set forth in the Payne patent,but when the weft ends W are heavy and there is a large bundle of thembetween the gears the releaser is depressed its dog 32 engages the shelfv to' rock the shaft 35 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed inFig. 3, whereupon a rod 31 is depressed to set the transfer mechanismnot shown for operation, and a second rod 38 is also depressed. Thissecond rod is connected to shuttle feeler mechanism a part of which isshown at 40 in Fig, 2 and pivoted at 4| with respect tothe turn thelatter whenever shaft 35 has a given aee eea movement in the operationof the magazine. It'

is to be understood that shaft 35 has rocking movements in oppositedirections whenever transfer is called, rocking in one direction, suchas counter-clockwise in Fig. 3, when a bobbin is released from itscradle, and subsequently rocking in the opposite direction to reset themagazine. I may use either of these movements to operate the gears 53and 4?.

Accordingly, in the preferred form of the invention in which theresetting movement of shaft 35 is utilized to operate the thread gears,I provide an arm 56 secured to the rear end of shaft 35 as at and mounta stud 52 in the upper end of a slot 53 in the arm. This stud is held infixed position on the arm by a nut 54 at the properly adjusted distancefrom the shaft 35. The core 55 of a Bowden wire designated generally at.55 is secured to the stud by set screw 51. The core extends through asheath 58 one end of which may be held as at 59 to the inner magazineplate l2. The upper end of rod 38. may be pivoted as at 63 to the arm55.

The wire 56 extends from the clip 59 along the rear part of the magazineand is attached as at 62 to a supporting arm 53 mounted on the tie rodM. The wire 53 extends along the arm 63 and through a lug 65 on thebottom thereof, being held in said lug by a set screw 35, see Fig. 6.

The casing 45 is secured to the bottom of the arm 63. as at 5? so thatthe casing and sheath 58 are held in fixed position relatively to eachother.

The sheath and core enter the top wall in of the casing 45 and the coreis secured as at ll to a head 12 pivoted at'l3 on a lever id within thecasing 55. The lever M swings about a shaft 15 journaled on casing 45and to which is secured the rear gear element ll. A ratchet wheel i5 issecured to the shaft 75 and is operated by a pawl 18 pivoted at 13 onthe lever. The pawl may have a counter-weight 83 which acts to hold thepawl in operating position with respect to the ratchet wheel at thebeginning of a working stroke of the pawl. The geared members 35 and s!are so related that turning of the rear element 4'! will cause turningof the forward element 46, hence rotation of the shaft 14 will rotateboth of the geared elements.

Under normal conditions the arm 55 is in the position shown in Fig. 3and the core 55 is in its forward position the effect of which is tohold the lever M in raised position with the pawl at the end of itsworking stroke, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 6. Whenever shaft 35is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction upon call for replenishmentas already described the wire core 55 is pushed rearwardly the effect ofwhich is to lower the lever 1'4 and thereby give the pawl an idle stroketo the left, or to the dotted line position of Fig. 6. When the shaft 35returns to its normal position upon resetting of the magazine the arm 50is restored to the position shown in Fig. 3

and thereby pulls the core 55 forwardly, where- 0 upon lever 14 isrocked clockwise as seen in Fig. 6

to give the pawl a working stroke for the purpose of turning the ratchetwheel 16. The geared elements 46 and 41 are thus turned to take up theslackness which developed in the weft ends when the bobbins moved fromthe position in Fig. 4 to that in Fig. 5.

In the preferred form of the invention just described I have utilizedthe return movement of shaft 35 to normal position to provide theoperating force for the pawl, but inasmuch as the slackness in the weft.ends shown in Fig. 5 occurs before shaft, has its first movement fromtoarm 85 as at 85 in a manner very similar to that utilized in thepreferred form of the invention. In this modification the parts withinthe casing will normally be in the position indicated in dotted lineswith the pawl ready to start a working stroke upon movement of lever 14.When shaft 35 rocks at the time a bobbin is released from its cradle,arm 85 -will be moved downwardly. to exert a pull on core 55, therebylifting lever M and giving the pawl '18 a working stroke to the fullline position of Fig. 6 to turn the ratchet and thereby cause angularmovement of the geared elements 46 and 51. When the shaft 35 returns toits normal position, arm .85 is raised and the pawl is given a reverseor idle return movement from the fullline to the dotted lin position ofFig. 6. It will thus be seen that in the modified form of the inventionthe first rocking of shaft 35 causes turning of the geared elements 46and 41, and also the normal position of the pawl and its lever in themodified form is reversed from that which exists in the preferred formof the invention.

It will be obvious from the preceding that the operation of the threadholder geared elements in both forms of the invention is independent oftransfer, since the arms 53 and 85 have their movements incident to eachcall for replenishment whether or not the call is completed. This is asignificant relationship, inasmuch as the slackness of the weft endsshown in Fig. 5 results upon dropping of the bobbins when a transfer iscalled, and this slackness should be taken up even though revocationprevents subsequent transfer.

Front geared element 45, as shown-in Fig. .6, is rotatably mounted at 90on a link 9! pivoted at 92 on the casing 45. A compression spring 93between the casing and link 91 urges the front gear 46 rearwardly towardgear 41, but permits forward yielding of the front gear when a largebundle of weft ends is located between the gears.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple means bywhich the geared elements 46 and 41 are caused to turn to take upslackness in the weft ends W whenever a replenishing operation iscalled, and independently of whether transfer ensues. It will further beseen that the arm utilized in the preferred form of the invention causesthe core to turn the geared elements upon return movement of a member,such as shaft 35, to its normal position, whereas in the modified formof the invention the geared elements are turned when the shaft 35 movesaway from its normal position incident to call for transfer. While Ihave shown the shaft 35 as the specific source of the force whichoperates the geared elements I do not wish necessarily to be limited tothis particular part of the magazine for the operation of my invention,since it is sufficient if the geared elements are turned by a part whichhas a motion when a bobbin is moved toward transfer position. It willfurther be seen that the geared elements are turned by a part which hasa motion which always follows initiation of replenishment even thoughthe completion of the replenishment is prevented by a misplaced shuttle.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing mechanism having a stackof reserve bobbins and a bobbin releaser which causes the bobbins todescend and thereby slacken their weft ends whenever the releaser isoperated, a shaft mounted on the mechanism to operate the releaser andhaving an oscillating movement incident to each release of a bobbin fromthe stack, meshing geared elements between which the weft ends extend,and means operated by the shaft during said oscillating movement to turnthe geared elements in a direction to draw the weft ends away from thebobbins.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a stack of bobbins and a bobbinreleaser therefor which causes the bobbins to move progressively towardtransfer position as successive replenishing operations of the loomoccur, the bobbins having weft ends extending between meshing gearedelements rotatable to tension the weft ends, a shaft mounted on the loomto operate said releaser and having a rocking movement in one directionaway from the normal position thereof incident to release of a bobbinfrom the stack and having a subsequent return rocking movement in theopposite direction back to the normal position thereof, and meansconnected to and operated by said shaft when the latter has one of saidrocking movements thereof to cause said geared elements to turn in adirection to tension the weft ends.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a stack of bobbins and a bobbinreleaser therefor which causes the bobbins to move progressively towardtransfer position as successive replenishing operations of the loomoccur, the bobbins having weft ends extending between meshing gearedelements rotatable to tension the weft ends, a shaft on the loom tooperate said releaser and having a rocking movement in one directionwhen a bobbin is released from the stack and subsequently having areturn rocking movement in the opposite direction, pawl and ratchetmechanism operatively connected to the geared elements, and operatingconnections between the shaft and the pawl causing the latter to have amovement in one direction with respect to the ratchet when the shaft hasone of said rocking movements thereof and causing the pawl to have anopposite movement with respect to the ratchet when the shaft has theother rocking movement thereof, one of the movements of the pawl withrespect to the ratchet causing the latter to turn said geared elemens ina direction to tension the weft ends.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having a stack of bobbins and a bobbinreleaser therefor which causes the bobbins to move progressively towardtransfer position as successive replenishing operations of the loomoccur, the bobbins having weft ends extending between meshing gearedelements rotatable to tension the weft ends, a shaft to operate saidreleaser and having an oscillation incident to each release of a bobbinfrom the stack, an arm secured to and moving with said shaft, a 'pawland ratchet mechanism operatively connected to said geared elements, andmeans connecting the arm to the pawl causing the latter to turn theratchet and effect movement of the geared elements in a direction totension the weft ends during oscillation of said shaft.

5. In a weft replenishing loom having a stack of bobbins which moveprogressively toward transfer position as successive replenishingoperations of the loom occur, the bobbins having weft ends extendingbetween meshing geared elements rotatable to tension the weft ends, ashaft having an oscillation incident to each release of a bobbin fromthe stack, an arm secured to and moving with said shaft, a pawl andratchet mechanism operatively connected to said geared elements, and aflexible wire inclosed within a flexible sheath operatively connectingthe arm to the pawl and causing the latter to turn the ratchet to effectmovement of the geared elements in a direction to tension the weft endswhen said arm has one of the rocking movements thereof.

ELLIOT A. SANTON.

